Often times scammers can be easy enough identify and avoid, but we don't always have our guards up and some are more clever than others. If you fall victim to an eBay scam, it's not the end of the world. Here are a few things you can do to try and fix the situation.

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Frugal living blog SquawkFox has a few suggestions for dealing with the unfortunate problem of being scammed by an eBay buyer.

First, you're going to need to contact the seller and try to resolve things yourself as eBay will not help you if you do not do this. Assuming that fails, you're going to want to report the problem to eBay, as well as PayPal (if that's how you paid), so everything is official and the long resolution process can begin. Make sure you do this within 45 days of payment and also be sure your purchase is covered by eBay's buyer protection policies. (Ideally you'd have done this before buying, but it's an easy thing to forget about.)

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In the event eBay is useless in resolving the issue, as they often can be, you'll want to contact your credit card company or bank. Paying through PayPal using a credit card is almost always ideal because it's easier to have the charges blocked. If you used a debit card the money's likely gone, but sometimes your bank can still help you and it's worth making the call. If that fails, you can always contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center (that one's for America, here's one for Canada). Like with most theft, it's unlikely you're going to recover anything if it comes to this but that doesn't mean you shouldn't report the scammer to help the next person. Additionally, don't forget to leave negative feedback on their account and post about them online. Scam.com is one example of a forum where you can post your negative experiences.

Got any other suggestions for coping with being scammed? Maybe a little revenge? Share your thoughts in the comments.